Nightingale Primary School

Pensilva Pre School

Inspection report for early years provision

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Pensilva Pre School

102839 Unique Reference Number 17 October 2006 Inspection date Sarah Jane Wignall Inspector

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Pensilva Pre School

Pensilva Primary School, School Road,Pensilva, Liskeard, Cornwall, PL14 5PG

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Setting Address

07890023924 Telephone number skskeed@hannah16.fsnet.co.uk E-mail Pensilva Pre School Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Sessional care Type of care

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Setting Address

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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ABOUT THIS INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality of childcare and, if applicable, of nursery education. The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004; the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding; and, where nursery education is provided, the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration or 1 April 2004 whichever is the later.

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

For more information about early years inspections, please see the booklet Are you ready for your inspection? which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are good. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are good.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Pensilva Pre-School is a committee run group. It opened in 1977 and operates from one room in an Elliot building in the grounds of Pensilva primary school. It is situated in the village of Pensilva. A maximum of 20 children may attend the pre school at any one time. The pre-school is open each weekday from 9.00 until 11.30, and from 13.00 until 15.30 on a Monday & Tuesday during term times only. All children share access to a secure enclosed play area.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 33 children from two to four years on roll. Of these, 20 children receive funding for early education. Children come from the local area. The setting currently supports children with learning difficulties.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The pre-school employs seven members of staff. All the staff hold appropriate early years qualifications and two staff are currently working towards further qualification. The setting

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 receives support from an advisory teacher from Family Services. They are members of Pre-School Learning Alliance (PLA).

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is outstanding. Children's health is very well promoted by effective procedures at the setting. Children are cared for in a clean, bright and welcoming room. Staff and helpers follow rigorous procedures when cleaning and preparing foods. Children learn the importance of personal hygiene as posters remind them to wash their hands after using the toilet and before eating or cooking activities. Children have access to three sinks within the setting with easy access to hand wash and paper towels which limit the risks of cross-infection. Children are protected from the dangers of the sun, as posters and newsletters remind parents to apply cream and provide hats during hot weather. A recently acquired shaded area has been provided for the outdoor play area. Suitable accident and medication record forms are in place and staff take effective action if children become ill while in their care. Sufficient staff hold current first aid and food hygiene

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Helping children to be healthy

Children benefit as they are provided with an extremely good and varied range of midday snacks. The setting operates a daily bistro where children attend a café style system when they are hungry. Snacks are well planned and include healthy and nutritious items such as fresh fruit, beans on toast and soup among others. Children learn about other cultures as they taste foods such as rice and couscous. Children are provided with milk or water to drink. Information about special diets and allergies is well displayed in the kitchen area and on individual children's name cards.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children benefit from very well organised sessions where the outdoor play area is well used to cover many aspects of the curriculum. Children are able to go outside to play in role play, sand and painting as well as access to physical challenge on a range of different equipment. Children enjoy the space and fresh air that this provides. Children show confidence and control as they pedal around the playground on different sized bikes and they push buggies. They learn to climb as they make use of large school climbing equipment. Weekly access to the school hall provides the opportunity for more focussed activities. During poor weather children enjoy indoor music and movement sessions where they learn to move their bodies in different ways. Children gain fine muscle control as they confidently use a range of one handed tools such as small knives and forks, glue sticks, scissors and different sized pencils. Activities such as

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Helping children to be healthy

threading beads help increase their co-ordination and control.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children benefit from being cared for in a well maintained and well presented environment. The playroom is bright and welcoming and many safety measures are in place. Written risk assessments are used to identify and minimise hazards and good links with the school maintenance team ensure problems are quickly addressed. Suitable safety measures such as

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 socket covers, radiator guards and safety gates are in place. The outdoor play area is not fully secured. Children learn about fire safety as they practise regular fire drills both with the whole school and independently. All fire and electrical equipment is regularly serviced. Effective staff deployment ensures children are well supervised as they play both indoors and out.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children have access to a good range of equipment which is sorted and stored into low level storage boxes. Storage boxes are well labelled so that children can self select easily. The playroom is well laid out allowing children to move safely within it. Staff undertake visual checks to ensure that equipment is safe and suitable for children's use. Children learn about safety issues as they discuss the dangers of sharp knives when cutting fruit during circle time. Staff ensure children are grouped appropriately when participating in small group activities.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are protected as the staff have a good understanding of child protection procedures. A designated member of staff takes responsibility for child protection and she has completed training in this area. All concerns are recorded and discussed with the person in charge who takes appropriate action or referral if needed. Good links with the school ensure relevant concerns are shared.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children are happy and settled at the pre-school. Staff have organised a bright and stimulating play room where children can move freely between activities. Young children are well supported by staff who have a good understanding of their needs. Young children are well included in all activities and staff plan appropriately, setting realistic and achievable goals. New children settling in are given time and support and parents are encouraged to stay until children have increased in confidence. Sessions are well organised allowing very good use of the outdoor environment. The café style snack time ensures minimal disruption to play.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and children's learning is good. Staff have a very good understanding of how children learn. Staff make use of long, medium and short term planning, reflecting a good balance between all areas of learning. Regular observations and assessments are carried out and daily debrief sessions are used to outline children's progress on a daily basis and guide planning for the following week. Planned activities are differentiated to ensure that the more able and less able are challenged appropriately, for instance when completing maths activities. Sessions offer a good balance between adult-led and free play.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are gaining in confidence as they speak and contribute at group circle time. Several children confidently sing to the whole group when using the karaoke machine. Children have good relationships with staff and each other. Children work well together during cookery activities and when playing in role play. Children enjoy listening to stories both during group story time or when using the headphones to follow stories such as Little Red Riding Hood. Children enjoy drawing, painting and making marks. Staff increase children's understanding of the written word as they model writing when putting captions to their work. Staff do not always fully extend children's thinking and language skills by the use of open ended questions.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 Children learn to recognise numerals and to count through everyday routines and specific activities. Daily circle time is used effectively to count the numbers of children present. Children learn about numbers as they count out the numbers of real apples and then the same amount to stick on their apple tree pictures. Children learn about shape as they complete jigsaws and construct with large and small blocks. Children learn about technology as they use the computer with increasing confidence. Recently introduced record systems ensure staff monitor children's progress in this area. Children have opportunities to model with junk and use shredded paper to represent hair when creating a mermaid. Children use their imagination well and use role play to increase their understanding of the world, for instance, when bathing their baby dolls

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

or preparing play food in their café. Overall children make good progress in all areas of learning.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children benefit as they are cared for in a small village setting where staff know individual children well. Good use of the key worker system ensures there is good liaison and effective links with home. Children with learning disabilities are very well supported and staff work closely with parents and professionals in outlining suitable targets for development. Children learn about their own community and the wider world through outings and topics and during their play. Visits to the local library and post office inform children about local services. Children learn about animals as they enjoy visits from the local zoo, where they look at and handle small creatures. Children learn about diversity as they taste foods from other countries such as couscous to celebrate African day and naan bread and rice to learn about India.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children behave very well. Staff have put in place a well organised session where children are busy and occupied throughout. The use of the café style system ensures play is not disrupted and the free flow use of outdoors allows children to follow their own interests. Staff encourage children to behave appropriately and sit and listen at circle time. Children receive lots of verbal praise and encouragement and the use of stickers helps reinforce achievement. All staff are consistent and calm in their approach.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents and carers is good. All parents and carers are encouraged to be involved with the pre-school through participation in regular helper duties. Parents are provided with good quality information about the setting both through an informative prospectus and in welcome meetings that are arranged before children start at the setting. Regular newsletters are sent home outlining ongoing topics so that parents can support children's learning at home. The complaints procedure has not been updated in line with recent changes to legislation. Good settling in procedures are in place and help children to settle quickly. Parents are kept informed of their child's progress through verbal feedback and annual meetings. They have access to children's developmental records at any time. Occasional parent workshops are run providing parents with information on supporting literacy at home. Children are encouraged

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Helping children make a positive contribution

to take a library book home to share with parents. Discussions with some parents indicate that they are very happy with the care and education their child receives. The pre-school fosters children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Children are well cared for at the setting, by staff that are well qualified, keen and committed to their roles. The person in charge provides clear leadership and direction ensuring that sessions are well organised and run smoothly. All staff are qualified and are supported in their professional development through regular staff appraisals. Children have access to sufficient indoor play space and can freely access the outdoor play area during good weather. Sessions are well organised with children being able to exercise some choice of the time they eat and whether they play indoors or out. Appropriate registration systems are in place recording staff and children's attendance on a daily basis. Staff deployment is very effective in ensuring children's individual needs are well met. Effective use of parent helpers allows staff more time to work directly with children. Comprehensive policies and procedures are in place, with most being

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Organisation

The leadership and management of the pre-school is good. While the setting is managed by a voluntary committee of parents, day to day leadership is provided by the person in charge. She is keen and committed to developing practice at the group, and they have recently been awarded a quality assurance award. Fundraising is currently underway in order to further develop the outdoor play area. Staff work very well together as a team and have daily opportunities to meet and share information about children's progress in order to guide the planning of the curriculum. The setting has good links with the adjoining primary school, having access to the school hall and play grounds. Some joint activities are planned with the reception class ensuring children's confidence and familiarity when moving up to school. Overall, the setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last care inspection the provider was asked to improve hygiene practices by ensuring children always have access to clean hand washing water that has not been used by another adult or child. At the last nursery education inspection the provider was asked to give consideration to extending the practice of producing books illustrated and written by the children in order to support learning, to continue to develop the outdoor area and outdoor curriculum, and to develop the curriculum outlining how more able children will be taught letter formation.

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Improvements since the last inspection

Children's health is well promoted as they have easy access to three child-height sinks with fresh running water, where hands are washed regularly during the session. Children have the opportunity to contribute to large scrapbooks as they draw and write items for inclusion in the book. More able children have the opportunity to develop writing skills in this way. Very good use is made of the outdoor environment where children can access other areas of the curriculum such as role play and creative play.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since the last inspection there have been no complaints made to Ofsted that required the provider or Ofsted to take any action in order to meet the National Standards.

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Complaints since the last inspection

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by parents, which they can see on request. The complaints record may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are good. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are good.

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The quality and standards of the care

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • improve safety by ensuring that all gates to the outdoor play area are secure • update the complaints procedure in line with recent changes to legislation

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

To improve the quality and standards of nursery education further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • develop children's thinking and language skills by using more open ended questioning.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

set out in the leaflet Building better childcare: Compliments and concerns about inspectors' judgements which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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